The Big Finish

Public schools have been bemoaning this for a long time. The parochial schools hog all the accolades and titles.

Mater Dei this, Mater Dei that.

Well, there’s a new sheriff in town.

Santa Margarita, the other parochial school, might be the parochial power that everyone thought Mater Dei was.

The Eagles turned a consistent spring performance into a knockout of Mater Dei, the defending champion, in The Times’ Orange County All-Sports award.

The competition provides points to schools based on performance and counts boys’ and girls’ sports equally, regardless of sport. It is designed to reward balanced athletic programs rather than those that excel in only a few individual sports.

The winning school in the large- (1,275 or more students) and small-school divisions receives a traveling trophy to keep for a year, a trophy to keep, and a banner to hang in its gym recognizing the achievement.

Unlike Santa Margarita, Brea Olinda has been in the all-sports hunt before. And for the first time, it won the small-school title.

Coincidentally, both winners from last year--Mater Dei and Laguna Hills--finished second.

Santa Margarita scored a record 407.9 points, 56 1/2 more than Mater Dei (351.4). Brea Olinda scored 390.3, more than enough to make up for not fielding a boys’ volleyball team; Laguna Hills scored 345.7.

In the three years of the competition, no school has repeated as champion; Los Alamitos and Corona del Mar won the first year the award was given.

“The reason it’s such a compliment to us is that we feel we’ve accomplished what we started out here--provide a holistic education,” Santa Margarita Athletic Director Rich Schaaf said. “We’re trying to educate the kids in God, academics, the fine arts and then sports. That’s why, to us, it’s a big compliment. We tried to do all that.

“We didn’t want sports to be the reason to come to our school, just to be a part of it. From the type of kid we’re turning out, I can tell we’re doing a good job.”

It’s not that Santa Margarita did anything extraordinary in the spring--it just did so much more than Mater Dei. Both teams won six league titles this year, Santa Margarita won three in the spring.

Mater Dei led Santa Margarita after the winter sports season by 7.2 points, meaning the Eagles outscored Mater Dei during the spring by 63.7 points.

It was a far different type of finish from last year, when Mater Dei held a 34.9-point lead over Edison and eventually won by 12.9 over Sunny Hills--which made up 72 points to jump from sixth-place to second.

If Mater Dei had one failing this year, it was in its boys’ programs. Santa Margarita scored more points--often considerably more--than Mater Dei in all but three boys’ sports: football, basketball and baseball. Even then, Santa Margarita was outscored by fewer than five points in football and fewer than two points in basketball. Although the two schools often compete in different divisions, Santa Margarita, with its enrollment of 1,280, is the smallest of the large schools.

More specifically during the spring season, Santa Margarita overtook Mater Dei by winning big in five boys’ sports.

Santa Margarita outscored Mater Dei by 38 points in golf (out of a possible 40), 36 in swimming, 23.2 in volleyball, 22 in track and field, and 11 in tennis.

That more than offset Mater Dei’s notable advantage in baseball (19.8 points), badminton (15), and softball (33.8). Santa Margarita doesn’t field a badminton program.

In fact, Mater Dei’s girls’ programs were outperformed by Santa Margarita’s in only two sports during the 1995-96 school year: track and field, 13-4, and girls’ tennis, 23-15.

“I guess it shows the importance, or significance, of the smaller sports,” said Mater Dei softball Coach Doug Myers, whose team won the school’s only Southern Section title outside of boys’ basketball. “They all add up.”

They certainly do. Here’s how Santa Margarita made its championship run:

- Carry-over: Santa Margarita scored 226.7 points for the fall and winter sports seasons; Mater Dei, the previous leader, scored 233.9.

- Baseball: The Eagles finished 15-11 overall (5.8 points, rounded up, based on their winning percentage of .576), tied for third place (5.0 points) in the Sea View League, but got no points for its performance in the playoffs. Total: 10.8.

- Badminton: Santa Margarita doesn’t field a team and got no points.

- Golf: The Eagles were 9-1 (9.0 points), finished first in league (10.0) and won the Southern Section title (20). Their effort in the CIF-SCGA tournament didn’t count toward the award. Total: 39.

- Softball: Santa Margarita went 16-11 overall (5.9), finished fourth in league and did not qualify for the playoffs. Total: 5.9.

- Boys’ swimming: The Eagles were unbeaten (10.0), won the league (10.0) and finished second in the section finals (16.0). Total: 36.

- Girls’ swimming: The girls were 2-3 in league. Total: 4.0.

- Boys’ tennis: Santa Margarita went 6-4 in league (6.0) and finished third (5.0). Total: 11.

- Boys’ track: The boys were 4-1 in league (8.0), took second place (7.0) and won the section title (20.0). Total: 35.

- Girls’ track: The team went 3-2 in league (6.0) for second place (7.0). Total: 13.

- Boys’ volleyball: The Eagles were 17-3 (8.5) and won the league (10.0). They lost in the section quarterfinals (8.0). Total: 26.5.

“One reason we’ve had such success this year is because our league is so good,” Schaaf said. “You play that kind of competition game in and game out--you get used to that kind of competition. In boys’ basketball, we were league co-champions, but because the league was so tough, it got us ready and we won the CIF playoffs.

“In boys’ track, we didn’t win the league, but we won CIF. Competing against that type of ability made us better. In girls’ cross-country, we finished third in league [actually fourth], but we were CIF champs.”

Brea Olinda was able to avoid a repeat of last year, when its lack of a boys’ volleyball team prevented it from winning. A year ago, Brea Olinda led fifth-place Laguna Hills by 49.5 points, only to lose by seven points to the Hawks. The difference was Laguna Hills’ 13.5 points in boys’ volleyball.

This time, Brea led third-place Laguna Hills by 32.6 points and stretched its margin of victory to 44.6. The Wildcats finished with 390.3 points, Laguna Hills with 345.7. El Modena, second after the winter season, dropped to fifth.

Among the reasons Brea was able to do this year what it couldn’t last year was the school’s success in softball and boys’ swimming.

The softball team scored only 5.0 points last year, but this year scored 29.2 by winning its league (10 points), going 21-8 with its best-ever record (7.2 points) and reaching the section semifinals for the first time (12.0 points).

The boys’ swimming team was undefeated (10.0), won the league title (10.0) and got 12 postseason performance points.

Another reason for its success was Brea Olinda’s consistency across the board. It was the only school in the county that scored at least 10 points in each sport it fielded, averaging 20.5 points per sport--roughly the equivalent of going undefeated and winning a league title.

The Wildcats’ 21-sport average was 18.6, though it didn’t field a badminton team, either. The school won 12 Orange League titles.

The school has long been identified with its girls’ basketball program, which has won five state championships and was even ranked No.1 nationally in 1994. But the girls’ sports teams won six of eight league titles, and the school won a league and Southern California Regional title in a non-scoring sport, gymnastics.

“There’s only 15 girls and a couple of coaches who win a state title, and that’s awesome--you can’t ask for more than to win state championship,” said Sharen Caperton, girls’ athletic director and softball coach. “But not everyone is going to get that feeling because only a few sports have that chance. But this shows we have a total athletic program in all sports.

“That’s not a put-down on basketball. Basketball is a great sport, and we have a great program, but some of the other sports don’t get the respect they deserve, and maybe this will help them get some of that respect.

“I believe [the award] is going to show we’re a total athletic program, not a one-sport program.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

FINAL STANDINGS

Large Schools

1. Santa Margarita

2. Mater Dei

3. Foothill

4. Esperanza

5. Capistrano

6. Villa Park

7. University

8. Los Alamitos

9. Irvine

10. Sunny Hills

Small Schools

1. Brea Olinda

2. Laguna Hills

3. El Dorado

4. Servite/Rosary

5. El Modena

6. Garden Grove

7. Tustin

8. Orange Lutheran

9. Corona del Mar

10. Calvary Chapel

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Guide to the Top 20

Here is the key for categories. Values except for the totals are rounded to the nearest 10th. Rounding might create slight discrepancies between sum of individual figures and total.

Previous--Carryover from fall and winter sports. BB--Baseball. BM--Badminton. G--Golf. SB--Softball. BS--Boys’ swimming. GS--Girls’ swimming. BT--Boys’ tennis. BTF--Boys’ track and field. GTF--Girls’ track and field. BV--Boys’ volleyball.

--Researched by DON TURNBULL

Final Large School Top 20

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School Previous BB BM G SB BS GS BT BTF GTF 1. Santa Margarita 226.7 10.8 0 39 5.9 36 4 11 35 13 2. Mater Dei 233.9 30.6 15 1 39.7 0 11 0 13 4 3. Foothill 138.6 13.7 0 13 31.1 28 18 11 11 13 4. Esperanza 212.4 12.4 0 18 2.9 0 11 8 15 9 5. Capistrano Valley 186.7 23.2 0 2 19.6 23 15 2 4 2 6. Villa Park 188.2 12.7 0 20 4.6 15 20 20 15 4 7. University 144.7 12.7 0 11 8.9 15 23 28 11 20 8. Los Alamitos 194.9 11.8 0 11 11.1 20 4 19 0 2 9. Irvine 141.4 24.3 0 12 14.5 30 36 1 9 2 10. Sunny Hills 135.6 9.8 1.3 16 11.6 20 28 21 4 15 11. El Toro 142.2 25.1 0 12 10.9 0 26 1 36 4 12. Edison 146.2 4 0 2 3.5 11 2 15 32 20 13. Mission Viejo 85.1 3.6 0 4 4.2 40 28 15 15 36 14. Woodbridge 132.5 4.4 0 12 28.7 2 0 35 2 20 15. Fountain Valley 120.0 33.7 0 1 16.3 2 27 11 4 11 16. Dana Hills 126.3 1.7 0 18 3.3 2 2 28 20 15 17. San Clemente 140.1 3.9 0 12 1.1 11 11 11 0 2 18. Aliso Niguel 100.9 3.5 0 14 15.4 4 11 23 15 4 19. Canyon 87.4 39 0 13 25.7 11 4 15 0 0 20. Cypress 104.2 14.3 1 20 9.8 4 2 4 11 5

School BV Total 1. Santa Margarita 26.5 407.90 2. Mater Dei 3.3 351.44 3. Foothill 39.5 316.79 4. Esperanza 26.4 315.06 5. Capistrano Valley 35 299.88 6. Villa Park 0 299.53 7. University 9.7 284.07 8. Los Alamitos 4.1 277.91 9. Irvine 7.7 277.80 10. Sunny Hills 0 262.26 11. El Toro 2.7 259.85 12. Edison 10 245.71 13. Mission Viejo 9.7 240.63 14. Woodbridge 2.9 239.50 15. Fountain Valley 4.4 230.43 16. Dana Hills 2.5 218.88 17. San Clemente 13.5 205.54 18. Aliso Niguel 13.8 202.58 19. Canyon 3.1 198.22 20. Cypress 4.7 180.06

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Final Small School Top 20

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School Previous BB BM G SB BS GS BT 1. Brea Olinda 216.2 12.4 0 14.5 29.2 32 20 28 2. Laguna Hills 183.6 17.7 0 5 12.4 36 40 11 3. El Dorado 175.5 10.6 0 13.7 13.8 32 20 19 4. Servite/Rosary 152.9 17.1 0 20 24.9 20 20 19 5. El Modena 201.1 2 0 0 11 4 2 7 6. Garden Grove 114.0 4.8 19 10.7 12.1 18.3 18.3 20 7. Tustin 136.5 25.6 0 8.3 3.1 15 11 3 8. Orange Lutheran 177.0 4.4 0 13 5.9 0 0 4 9. Corona del Mar 161.8 5.4 0 3 3.8 11 12 32 10. Calvary Chapel 107.0 29.8 0 0 16.6 11 4 0 11. Pacifica 125.1 13 0 3 26.7 20 20 10 12. Ocean View 136.9 9.6 20 13.7 15.9 4 15 10 13. Katella 129.6 17.5 14 8.3 8.4 15 15 2 14. Troy 113.4 4 18.8 0 5.8 4 13 14 15. Newport Harbor 144.8 3.3 0 3 4.5 4 2 5 16. Valencia 99.4 3.8 0 20 3.7 9 15 15 17. Magnolia 79.4 17.8 14 0 12 13 11 4 18. Sonora 106.4 14.9 0 0 10.6 15 2 4 19. Kennedy 105.6 4.6 3 0 16.8 11 4 8 20. Estancia 123.3 0.8 0 20 1.2 2 2 2

School BTF GTF BV Total 1. Brea Olinda 18 20 0 390.27 2. Laguna Hills 20 15 5 345.68 3. El Dorado 15 15 11.8 326.39 4. Servite/Rosary 20 11 14.1 318.96 5. El Modena 20 20 11.3 278.38 6. Garden Grove 20 15.3 12.6 265.18 7. Tustin 18 15 25.9 261.39 8. Orange Lutheran 20 29.5 1.3 255.05 9. Corona del Mar 9 2 13.3 253.22 10. Calvary Chapel 26.5 17 34.4 246.25 11. Pacifica 5 20 3.3 246.08 12. Ocean View 2 2 11.5 240.60 13. Katella 20 3.3 0 233.10 14. Troy 15 20 0 207.94 15. Newport Harbor 0 15 12.6 194.26 16. Valencia 6 0 18 189.85 17. Magnolia 2 13 0 166.24 18. Sonora 11 0 0 163.95 19. Kennedy 0 9 0 162.05 20. Estancia 4 2 2.5 159.83

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